Graffiti As Protest

Egypt-graff-05-MED

by Chris Bodenner

Danny Ramadan is in Cairo:

Egyptians might be some of the first graffiti artists in history with their famous hieroglyphics and carvings found everywhere on ancient Egyptian tombs, but this new wave of art is different. Graffiti in Cairo today is dominated by anti-Mubarak messages on city walls, military tanks, and smartly-written signs carried by frustrated people, and it is taking over the streets and being used to protest against the current government. ...

The tanks of the military are being used as billboards for graffiti. The clean, yellowish vehicles are now spotted with slogans cursing the current president, asking him to leave the Egyptian people alone, or asking for the support of the army. The f-word was used prominently on one tank and followed by the name of Mubarak; the officers didn’t seem to mind. Everyday people have been standing next to the tanks, or even on the vehicles, and often posing for photos. Sometimes they even ask the officers to take photographs with them.

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